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Windsor native excited for world stage to come to her hometown

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By Jim Morris

Two summers ago Kylie Masse sat in the stands during the swimming competition at the Toronto Pan American Games and thought how great it would be to compete in a major international event in her home country.

“The pool just blew up whenever a Canadian was racing,” she said. “That was super cool. I think as an athlete it’s really motivating and it gets you excited to race.”

From Dec. 6-11 Masse will have the chance to experience for herself what it’s like to swim before a Canadian crowd. She will have the added bonus of swimming for a medal in her hometown when the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) are held in Windsor, Ont.

“It’s absolutely incredible to get this opportunity,” said the 20-year-old University of Toronto student who earned a bronze medal in the 100-metre backstroke at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. “A lot of athletes don’t get to experience a Games or a big competition like the world championships in their home country, let alone their home town.

“I’m super excited to be able to swim at home.”

The short course world championships will be held at the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre. The championships, being held for the first time in Canada, are expected to attract 1,000 swimmers from 176 countries.

Masse will swim the 100-m and 50-m backstroke in Windsor, plus a relay race. She understands the expectations she will face each time she steps onto the blocks.

“I feel like I’ve kind of blocked that out right now,” Masse said. “I’m just kind of focusing on how exciting it will be just being at home and just being back with the Canadian team again racing.”

Masse is also serving as the championships’ athlete ambassador. She has spent time in her hometown doing promotional events to raise awareness and sell tickets.

“I think they (organizers) have had a great response,” she said.

Bryon MacDonald, head coach of the University of Toronto swim team, said Masse combines good technique with a fierce competitive instinct.

“She’s got textbook technique,” said MacDonald. “She doesn’t flail in the water.

“She has nice long powerful strokes, enters (the water) properly, kicks properly. And also she’s a great racer.”

Masse began her swimming career at the Windsor Essex Swim Team. She debated attending university in the United States before MacDonald convinced her to swim at the U of T.

When Masse arrived in Toronto her best time in the 100-m back was one minute, 02.70. She swam a 58.76 in Rio for the bronze medal.

“We gave her a little bit more training,” said MacDonald. “We certainly gave her more strength. She matured physically.

“She is getting a lot more power and strength. She also started going to bigger, higher profile races and upping her game.”

One of the turning points in Masse’s career came at the Pan Am Games trials, where she failed to make the team that would compete in Toronto and the 2015 FINA World Championships.

Masse regrouped to compete at the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea, where she won the 100-m backstroke and was fifth in the 50-m back.

“It gave me the experience of being on the international stage,” said Masse. “I learned a lot just having to go overseas and race, living in the village.

“I gained a lot of confidence after that meet. Before I had never raced a meet with preliminaries and semifinals.  Just all those little things that were part of those Games helped me in how I performed this summer.”

MacDonald said Masse used the University Games experience as a springboard for the Summer Olympics.

“That gave us a tremendous momentum going into an Olympic year,” he said. “That was a turning point.”

Windsor will be a bit different: short course races are held in 25-metre pools, as opposed to the 50-metre pools at long-course meets.

“There are definitely things you have to change going from long course to short course,” said Masse. “That is something I have been trying to focus on.”

MacDonald said short-course racing means more time underwater and more turns.

“If you’ve got really good turns and a powerful leg kick, then you are going to excel,” he said.

The best Olympic swimmers don’t always reach the podium during short-course events.

“There are certain swimmers that are tailor made for short-course swimming,” said MacDonald.

“You will have some of the same people winning, but there will be definitely some people that are going to do very well at the short-course worlds that really were nowhere at the Olympic Games.”

Since returning from Rio, Masse has been working to improve her short-course technique.

“It sounds funny to say this, but it will be a little tougher to get on the podium (in Windsor) than the Olympic Games,” said MacDonald. “Kylie isn’t as good in short course as she is in long course.

“It’s a work in progress. We are working her turns to get them better. She doesn’t quite have the amount of power yet in her kicking. There are some swimmers in the world that are so much better short course than long course because it’s just pure power.”

Masse is looking at the short course worlds as another learning experience and a chance to improve her racing.

“I think I have learned from my (past) races,” she said. “There are always things you can improve on and do better.

“This will be my first world championships. I’m excited to get the opportunity to race against the best in the world.”